Buying comics in real life, or trying to

So every year or two, we leave our small town to visit relatives in The City. On these visits, we also try to do some shopping that we can't easily do at home. This includes bargain shopping for the kids (accompanied by hopes that they don't grow any before school starts in a few months). It also usually includes trips to two or more comic book shops.

Today was to be comic-book-shop day, so we took off and drove to one of our favorite stops.

Closed. I got out to look at the door, and it said--specifically--"Closed, not reopening." That's too bad, they were one of the few places I've seen in recent years that kept a large selection of back issues in longboxes. Kindly, it also included a recommendation for another comic shop to try ("the closest, and the best" said the sign). This shop was also on our list, so we went there next.

Closed. No sign.

If we'd been less fixated on comic books, we might have given up then.

However, we instead found a phone book, called the second shop, and were given the new address a few blocks away. Much bigger store, and I picked up a few things. I suspect it's one of those shops where some folks would feel ignored--a group of regulars was gathered around the register chatting, etc. Luckily, as a comic reader of 40+ years, I'm not shy about barging in on that sort of thing, and they were perfectly friendly once I had. (The fact that I take the position of "Age is Strength!" doesn't hurt either.) They didn't have what I was looking for in particular, though. (It was the trade of Red Hood: Lost Days, if you must know!)

So we made one more stop, where I found what I wanted and more besides. Nice shop, very customer-friendly.

Today's lesson, then, is that if you're a comic shop and you've moved, don't assume that because your regulars still know where you are, you're not losing any money. I'm sure I'm not the only one who--when visiting a city--makes a point of checking out the comic shops. And even if I'm only there once a year, I might be spending some bucks--in fact, because I'm only there once a year, I'm likely to be spending some bucks. Don't make it hard for me to find you!